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Zebrafish Whole Mount High-Resolution Double Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization
Published on: March 25, 2009
Maternal and embryonic expression of zebrafish lef1
R I Dorsky1, A Snyder, C J Cretekos
1HHMI and Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. rdorsky@u.washington.edu
Mechanisms of Development
|August 14, 1999
Summary
Researchers cloned zebrafish lef1, finding it expressed in neural crest and other tissues. Unlike other species, zebrafish lef1 shows maternal expression, offering new insights into Wnt signaling in early development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- The TCF/LEF family of transcription factors are key components of the Wnt signaling pathway.
- Wnt signaling plays a crucial role in regulating the fate and development of neural crest cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clone and characterize zebrafish homologs of TCF/LEF transcription factors.
- To investigate the expression patterns of these factors in zebrafish, particularly within the neural crest.
Main Methods:
- Cloning of zebrafish lef1, tcf3, and tcf4 homologs.
- Radiation hybrid mapping to determine the chromosomal position of zebrafish lef1.
- Analysis of gene expression in zebrafish embryos.
Main Results:
- A zebrafish homolog of lef1 was successfully cloned and mapped.
- Zebrafish lef1 is expressed in the neural crest, tailbud, and mesoderm.
- Zebrafish lef1 exhibits maternal expression, differing from mouse and Xenopus homologs.
- Two tcf3 genes and one tcf4 homolog were also cloned but showed limited expression in premigratory neural crest.
Conclusions:
- Zebrafish lef1 is a maternally expressed gene involved in neural crest development.
- The distinct expression pattern of zebrafish lef1 suggests species-specific regulation of Wnt signaling in neural crest formation.
